Source: Reuters/Arko Datta A woman walks past a 40 feet high pyramid structure made from plastic buckets and bottles at Kala Ghoda arts festival in Mumbai Manila is a familiar setting for most ADB staff. Even those accustomed to fighting the city’s traffic on the commute to the bank’s Ortigas base, however, are worried about the strain this year’s annual meeting will place on Manila’s creaking transport infrastructure. The traffic congestion in Manila is an all-too-common problem in Asia’s fast-growing cities. It is the result of years of under...Read more
To purchase printed copies or a PDF of this report, please email leonie.welss@lseg.com and shahid.hamid@lseg.com
With talk of a financial crisis now on the backburner, Asia needs to ensure its growth is not just stable, but also inclusive, says ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda. In an exclusive interview with IFR Asia, he urges policymakers not to waste this opportunity to focus on longer-term social goals.
As Asia’s economies expand, their ability to finance their own development is also increasing. The ADB has grown in tandem, but it needs to provide more than just financing if it is to remain relevant.
Myanmar’s progress towards democracy under reformist President Thein Sein has catapulted the country to the top of the international agenda after almost 25 years in isolation. For the ADB, the country is both an opportunity and a challenge. David Cameron met newly elected Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the democratic movement, in April, becoming the first UK prime minister to visit since 1948. The private sector is already rushing in. The Tokyo Stock Exchange and Daiwa Securities have announced plans to open Myanmar’s first stock exchange come...
Asia escaped the worst of the last global financial crisis, but a pullback in European lending highlights the need for a broader range of products for the region’s financial sector.
The ADB continues to call for closer co-operation between Asia’s financial markets, but little significant progress has been made. Has the near collapse of Europe’s single currency clouded that vision?
The ADB and Asean finance ministers are poised to announce the first commitments to the Asean Infrastructure Fund at this year’s annual meeting. Here’s the lowdown on the fund. What’s the big idea? Dreamed up in 2006, the Asean Infrastructure Fund is designed to boost public lending to fund the region’s infrastructure deficit and improve connectivity. At the same time, it also promises to provide member countries with a regional alternative to invest their reserves closer to home. The AIF will begin lending to sovereign-backed projects, but...
Another ever-present theme reared its head over the last 12 months with a series of scandals involving Asian companies. What can be done to improve governance and limit losses?
An expanding Asia needs ever-greater resources to fuel its growing economies. Balancing growth with sustainable development, however, remains a challenge.
The Philippines, host of this year’s ADB Annual Meeting, has slipped behind neighbour Indonesia in the race for an investment-grade credit rating. How can it avoid falling further behind as the rest of the region advances?
